Bible Strands
Isaiah 59:16
He saw that there was no man; He was amazed that there was no one to intercede. So His own arm brought salvation, and His own righteousness sustained Him.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet delivers the LORD’s declaration to Judah following a catalog of national sin and broken justice. The moment occurs when God observes the complete absence of human intercession in a corrupt land.
The words — וַ/יַּרְא (va/i.yaR') means "and he saw," and מַפְגִּ֑יעַ (maf.Gi.a') denotes "one who interposes." These terms record God’s observation of the missing mediator before describing His unilateral response.
The thread — The search for a human intercessor appears in Ezekiel 22:30, where God looks for someone to stand in the gap, and Psalm 98:1 credits His own right hand and holy arm with victory. Psalm 106:23 references Moses standing in the breach to avert wrath but does not connect to divine salvation through an arm.
Why it lands — The text states that when human mediation fails, God acts through His own arm and righteousness to secure salvation. It requires the reader to acknowledge that rescue depends on divine power alone rather than human intervention.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.
Cross-references
- Ezekiel 22:30 I searched for a man among them to repair the wall and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, so that I should not destroy it. But I found no one.
- Psalms 98:1 A Psalm. Sing to the LORD a new song, for He has done wonders; His right hand and holy arm have gained Him the victory.
- Psalms 106:23 So He said He would destroy them—had not Moses His chosen one stood before Him in the breach to divert His wrath from destroying them.
- Isaiah 64:7 No one calls on Your name or strives to take hold of You. For You have hidden Your face from us and delivered us into the hand of our iniquity.
- Isaiah 41:28 When I look, there is no one; there is no counselor among them; when I ask them, they have nothing to say.
- Isaiah 52:10 The LORD has bared His holy arm in the sight of all the nations; all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.
- Isaiah 63:3 “I have trodden the winepress alone, and no one from the nations was with Me. I trampled them in My anger and trod them down in My fury; their blood spattered My garments, and all My clothes were stained.
- Mark 6:6 And He was amazed at their unbelief. And He went around from village to village, teaching the people.
- Genesis 18:23 Abraham stepped forward and said, “Will You really sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
- Isaiah 50:2 Why was no one there when I arrived? Why did no one answer when I called? Is My hand too short to redeem you? Or do I lack the strength to deliver you? Behold, My rebuke dries up the sea; I turn the rivers into a desert; the fish rot for lack of water and die of thirst.